To connect to a galvanized pipe you either have to make a thread on the end of it, or unfasten it at a point where there is a thread to connect to. Usually the exterior of the pipe is too corroded and deteriorated to put a thread on it, especially if it had deteriorated to the point that it developed a leak. In the same way, any connection might also be poor enough that trying to unfasten the pipe would also break the pipe. So to answer the question, it is seldom easy, or inexpensive, to try to repair a buried steel pipe. But before giving an estimate to repair a leaking pipe I would first determine what kind of pipe it is and whether a repair iw possible. That, in my estimation, is where the plumber went wrong. I would never suggest spending $800 to $1,200 to repair a pipe if it only cost $1,800 to replace it, unless I could guarantee to the customer that the pipe would never break again.

: Recently a leak developed in the underground, main water pipe that delivers water into my house. After receiving a written quote by the plumbing company, I okayed it and they started the job. After digging and exposing the pipe, the plumbing company said that the pipe type was galvanized steel. They informed me that the pipe could not be repaired but had to be replaced, and the pipe could not be cut just outside the house and the new pipe simply added to the remaining piece. (the latter is what I originally agreed to). Instead, the new, plastic pipe had to be re-routed into the foundation at the side of the house, into the basement and connected to the main water supply in the basement that way. The re-rerouting was necessary to minimize the work needed to get the pipe into the house. Anyways, the reason I was given for not being able to repair the pipe or simply cutting the galvinzed steel pipe just outside the house and connecting the new pipe to the remaining piece is because there are no fittings for galvinized steel to allow that; in other words, galvanized steel pipes have to be replaced. The original quote for the job was between $800-$1200; after discovering the pipe was galvanized steel and accounting for the extra work to re-route the new pipe, the total cost was $1800. The only types of water delivery pipes I am familiar with are copper and plastic so I don't know if galvanized steel pipes can be repaired or if a new pipe can be added to a section of it. From information gathered from an acquaintence who claims to have repaired the exact same type of pipe with te same problem, I am beginning to think I was deceived by the plumbing company. So my question, although it does come too late this time, is, can galvined steel pipes be repaired? Or if the pipe is cut just before it enters the house, can a new pipe be added to the reamining piece of galvanied steel? Can you add a different type of pipe to a galvanized steel pipe (for example, adding a copper pipe between 2 sections of galvanized steel pipes)?